The Birth of the Bandit King
by Pengping
Summary: 3000 years ago, the Village of Kul Elna was slaughtered. This is when Cassim Bakura, the future Bandit King, watched in horror one night so long ago. He lost everything and everyone on the Pharaoh's orders. This is his story. Just a short story that will lead up to something in the sequel hopefully. For now enjoy. REBOOTED.
1. 3000 Years Ago

_The Village of Kul Elna, Egypt_

Many Egyptians might think of Kul Elna as the heart of darkness and evil in the Pharaoh Aknamkanon's Kingdom, but most of Kul Elna's inhabits did not. Most of its inhabitants were bandits, thieves, and outlaws though so most didn't take their opinion seriously.

What many of the other people forgot was that the village of Kul Elna was more than a base to those who lived within it. It was also a home. Yes, many bandits, thieves, and outlaws lived here, but their families and children also lived here.

Two of the children were about half-an-hour's walk from town. One sat on a stone in the shade casted by the high walls of the ravine, and the second stood on the sand in the middle of the space between canyon walls. They were siblings, a brother and sister, possessing silver-grey hair, slimmer frames, and grey-purple eyes.

The sister that stood had her eyes closed and was focusing on slowing her heartbeat and breathing while her brother watched. Kul Elna was not a rich town by any stretch of the mind, and everyone had to pull their weight to keep the village functioning smoothly. Both men and women had to preform labor and find food. Often they had to hunt, so the overwhelming majority of people in the village had some skill in archery. Since duties were shared, women dressed as men did in shirts, sandals, and pants as it would be foolish to go hunting in a dress. No one questioned it.

As such, both the brother and sister wore the same clothing and both were armed. It was foolish, if not suicidal, to stray from camp and be _un_ armed. The girl worked to slow her breathing and heartbeat, trying to get into the mindset she needed in order for this to work. Her brother, older by two years, was watching intently in anticipation for what was to come though and she could feel his gaze on her.

"Stop staring," she ordered without opening her eyes. "You're distracting me Cassim."

Cassim reluctantly dropped his eyes to the stone he sat on, fidgeting with the curved sword he wore on his waist.

"Sorry Ani," he apologized to his sibling, looking back up. "But what you do is so amazing."

"I'm not going to be able to do anything with you staring at me," Ani grumbled.

Cassim huffed, and the two siblings faced down. It was Cassim who backed down first, knowing that if he didn't he wouldn't get to see Ani practice with her gift.

"It's just amazing," Cassim said, interrupting Ani's concentration again.

He realized he should have stayed quiet and gave her a wide-eyed innocent expression when she glared at him.

"You still thinking about how you're going to become Bandit King with my help?" Ani challenged.

Cassim felt this was a loaded question, and wasn't sure how to answer it. Eventually he nodded and vowed, "I will become Bandit King one day."

"What if I decide not to help you?" Ani challenged. "What if I use my gift and become Bandit Queen? Bandit King Cassim just doesn't sound right."

"Oh," Cassim smirked, "and Bandit Queen Ani sounds so much better?"

"I could always practice with my gift _on_ you," Ani pointed out absentmindedly.

"I'd rather not," Cassim told her cautiously, leaning so his back rested on the cool stone behind him. "Besides, the title would be by our last name so it would be Bandit King – or Queen – Bakura."

He added the "or queen" when Ani raised an eyebrow at him. Although his little sister would never really hurt him, outside of a few bruises when they sparred with shafts of wood, she could be very scary when she wanted to be.

"I suppose that sounds better," Ani mused.

A short gust funneled down the narrow canyon, throwing up sand in a dust devil. Cassim shut his eyes and ducked his head to avoid the flying sand, and didn't open his eyes until the air had calmed again. Ani hadn't even seemed to notice the sand, and was standing with her eyes closed. The air around her distorted like it did above the hot sand when the sun was beating down. To see it as an aura around a person was unnatural and chilling.

He adjusted how he was sitting and shook some of the sand out of his air, eyes not leaving his sister. His hand brushed against the eleven-inch long dagger of Ani's that she had set beside him before she had begun. The strap that was used to tie it to her belt had been broken, and she had gotten tired of carrying it. She was barely ten, but she was already a prodigy around the village. Never had she been treated as normal, and the reason why was about to appear.

When it started, the distorted air around Ani faded away and then began to ripple behind her. The size of the distortion was large, large enough to make Cassim swallow. Then the distortion began to evolve into a distinct shape. Some might say it was feline, but it was larger than any desert lion Cassim had ever encountered.

The second indication was when the afternoon light pouring on the canyon began to dim as if a cloud was passing in front of the sun. Cassim looked up, but there was no cloud. He didn't expect there to be. Sweat that had slicked his hair and clothes from the heat of the desert cooled and vanished. It felt like it was now autumn instead of summer, and the temperature was no longer sweltering. Indeed, it felt almost comfortable.

Muscles rippled as the distortion near Ani became more distinct and then Cassim saw a pair of cat eyes, glowing as silver as the light of the full moon, appear in midair. Other features appeared in rapid order. Tufted ears twitched and whiskers bounced. A long tail swept over the sand.

Stars seemed to shimmer in the creature's fur and moonlight gathered and flowed around her paws, giving her a gentle aura. Light shimmered around the creature's mouth and a pair of ivory saber fangs hooked down from the cat's lips while ivory claws slid out from all four paws. They seemed to glow themselves like they had absorbing light for so long they were now radiating it. Blue fur, long and soft, covered the cat's frame, the colors rippling like the blue-black of twilight sky. The sight of her always took Cassim's breath away, and the only way he could describe her was luminescent.

Sand shifted and crunched beneath the four paws as she became solid, no longer a mere illusion. Ani opened her eyes and smiled at the giant feline. She was as tall as a horse, but unlike a horse, which was all legs, her cat was pure muscle. His sister reached forward with one hand and the cat leaned down, nuzzling the child's palm with her black nose.

"Hello Star Saber," Ani greeted her Ka.

Cassim hoped down from his perch and walked over to his sister, the temperature becoming cooler and more comfortable the closer he came to the cat. The ability to summon a Ka, a Spirit Monster, was thought originally to be a thing of legends. They made good stories, but of course there was no such thing as a Ka.

Ani had claimed they were real her entire life, and that she had one. She had been able to see the feline her entire life, but no one else could, so no one believed her. At first they had humored her, believing that she had merely created an imaginary friend. As she had gotten older, their patience for her childishness became strained.

She was told to grow up and stop lying. Ani had said she wasn't, and that just because they couldn't see Star Saber didn't mean she wasn't real. Others had given their parents and Cassim pitying looks, as if they felt sorry that their family had a daughter that was so weak in the mind and idiotic. It wasn't unexpected since she was talking about seeing a giant blue cat made of starlight, but Ani had still been outraged no one believed her.

Although Cassim had defended her against the other children as they taunted her for being a liar and a fool, he had never believed her stories of a Ka. Who would? He had always played along with her though, assuming that was all he was doing.

Strange things had always happened around Ani though. She had never cried as a baby or fussed, and was always said to be watching something besides their parents. Ani would smile and giggle, holding out her hands towards something only she could see. Then she started to know things, like when someone was trying to sneak up on her. It was unnatural, and her claims that Star Saber had told her tired their parents. No matter how hot it was she would never get overheated or dehydrated. Her skin was always cool to the touch.

Then a year ago, Cassim and a few of his friends had left the village and gone exploring. They had gotten lost, and had been startled to find Ani following them. When Cassim had demanded why she was following them and how they knew they were going to leave, Ani had said Star Saber had told her, and that she thought they would need help. Cassim had been hot and irritated, frustrated that he was lost, so he had just given up on Ani's "imaginary friend" and snapped at her.

That was the moment they had been attacked. The three boys had been so caught up in exploring that they hadn't realized a pride of desert lions had been stalking them, not until it was too late. Cassim's memory of the event was blurry because all he remembered was his sword being ripped out of his hands by a lion's strike and then blinding pain as its claws connected with the side of his face. The others had told him later that a giant blue cat made of starlight had appeared and chased off the lions – Ani's imaginary friend.

The adults hadn't believed them very much since they were all children, but all of that had changed when Ani had finally made Star Saber appear, visible to everyone, a week later. Their father had guessed that the stress of the near-death situation had unlocked her full range of her Ka's powers.

Everyone had stopped treating her like a half-wit and begun looking at her like a gift. Spirit Monsters were real, and the bandits had one. They could become solid enough to kill but could only be harmed by another Spirit Monster, and were immortal otherwise. The advantage Star Saber and Ani gave the bandits was unprecedented. The siblings' family became all the more important to the community.

Cassim and Ani's father, Tau, used to be a priest in the employ of Aknadin, Aknamkanon's younger twin. He knew about Ka's and the spirit world. Aknadin had been obsessed with the stories of the Spirit World, convinced they were real and that there was some way to harness its power. His obsession had continued to deepen to the point where he frightened Tau.

Not long after that, Tau had met and fallen in love with the siblings' mother, Iseret, the daughter of the current Bandit King. He had defected from the Pharaoh, in part to escape Aknadin's "experiments" as he tried to unlock a Ka. Being born and raised in the palace, Tau had extensive knowledge of how the palace and the Pharaoh's troops worked as well as of the Spirit World. His knowledge of the guards helped the bandits dodge, ambush, and outwit them.

Bandit King Nakht, Iseret's father, had been thrilled with Tau and agreed to let him marry his daughter. Recently, Nakht's right leg and the sight in his right eye had been damaged when a cliff's edge he had been standing on had given. He had started giving his son-in-law more responsibility within Kul Elna, so Tau had become the acting king of the bandits. Despite Ani's teasing, they knew Cassim stood a good chance of one day becoming Bandit King.

Cassim approached the gigantic feline and Star Saber turned her large head, shaped like a lion's head, towards him. Her glowing silver eyes apprised him, and Cassim bowed to her out of respect. His movement seemed to state the Ka because she sat down beside Ani. Her long tail, one the adults said was similar to a creature called a leopard, curled around three of her paws as she licked the fourth and began to groom herself like any car would.

The air around her was as cool as a spring night, and it made it easy for Cassim to understand why Ani never got overheated. Star Saber's ability to become invisible and incorporeal to everyone but Ani made it, and as such Ani, invaluable for scouting. Cassim was not invaluable, not like his sister now was.

"I wish I had a Ka," Cassim sighed.

He hadn't been thinking before he had spoken, a bad habit of his, and he regretted his words when he saw Ani turn from him and pet Star Saber. Cassim opened his mouth to apologize, but he wasn't sure what he could saw. There had been a time he remembered when Ani had been sitting in the corner of their home crying. She had looked at something Cassim couldn't see and shouted at it to go away and leave her alone. Ani had wished that Star Saber wasn't there. Then, people wouldn't have called her a liar. Her life would have been a lot easier if her Ka wasn't real. His words had been callous indeed.

Ani seemed to understand that Cassim was sorry and glanced at him briefly, her irises reflecting the sunlight like a cat's would, like Star Saber's did.

"You're my brother," Ani said softly. "Since I have one, you might to."

Cassim wanted to complain that Ani had been able to see Star Saber her whole life. He couldn't see a Ka, so that might mean he didn't have one. He didn't, not wanting to touch the old wound again. Maybe she was right and he did have one. Perhaps he just needed something to trigger it, like the lion attack had triggered Ani's ability to make Star Saber visible.

Instead of continuing about Ka's, he looked up at the sun. Based on the length of the shadows on the canyon walls, there were only about two hours of sunlight left. He held out his sister's dagger to her as a sort of peace offering. She took it back without a word, holding it awkwardly next to her canteen.

"We should probably head back to the village," Cassim announced.

Ani gave him a blank look, seeing the sunlight in the sky. "Why? It's only half-an-hour home. We have plenty of time until sunset."

"Remember what father said?" Cassim asked her.

Ani hummed under her breath as she remembered their father's words from the morning.

"Oh yeah," she said softly, "the Pharaoh's troops. I guess Aknamkanon will never learn he won't find Kul Elna, although you have to give him credit for persistence."

Cassim snorted. "That's all you can give that idiot credit for."

Ani smiled agreement and the tension from his careless statement about Ka faded away. This was something the siblings could always agree on. Every year or so, Aknamkanon got the dazzling idea to send troops to try and destroy the bandits. All the bandits needed to do was lay low while some of their assassins spread out among the mountains to kill the soldiers a few at a time, using the cloak of night and fear to drive the troops away.

The Pharaoh was a fool before and a double fool now that Star Saber was able to reinforce the bandits. He was a triple fool to be chasing down bandits when there was an invading army camped outside his capital. Although the invaders were no concern to Kul Elna's citizens, the threat of the Pharaoh's troops were. Children or not, the siblings would be killed if they were caught by their enemies. For their own safety, they would have to go back early. Cassim didn't think they were in any danger with Star Saber present, but he understood his father's logic.

"Come on," Ani waved her brother forward.

Star Saber seemed to understand the problem and lay on the ground in front of the children. Ani put her hands on the Ka's shoulders and swung onto the giant's feline back. The Ka was too large to ride like a horse, so Ani sat sidesaddle on the cat. Cassim didn't move, and Ani held out her hand, an invention for him to join her.

"You want me to get on that?" Cassim asked with eyes huge.

Star Saber flicked her ears back at being called a 'that', the tip of her tail flicking back and forth in irritation.

"Sorry," Cassim apologized to the Ka quickly, not wanting to offend the immortal spirit monster.

Star Saber swung her giant head the other way, silently accepting the apology.

"Come on," Ani repeated in a sharper voice, "unless you want to be walking under the sun for half an hour. We'll be home in half the time on Star Saber, and you won't get overheated this way."

Cassim didn't doubt Ani's time estimate, and he knew he wouldn't get hot while he was near the Ka. She seemed to radiate a cooling aura like she radiated light. That didn't exactly make him eager to get near a cat whose fangs were as long as his forearm. He might have gotten used to seeing Star Saber over the past year but he had never ridden her before. There wasn't even a saddle or anything to help him keep his seat.

Cassim froze for a long moment, but at Ani's reassuring smile took a wary step forward. She had a dimple on her left cheek, and her upper canines were pointed into fangs like a cat's. It was amazing how much her Ka influenced his sister's appearance.

He took care not to step on one of Star Saber's paws or her tail as he approached and climbed onto the Ka behind Ani. Unlike Ani, he didn't have practice being on the Ka. It stunned him how silky her thick fur was, how his hands sank into her fur. Never had he felt anything so soft.

When Star Saber stood, he bobbed forward and grabbed his sister's waist. His fear got a giggle from Ani. Cassim huffed and Star Saber turned her head so she could see him. It seemed like the Ka was siding with its guardian.

"Don't worry Saber," Ani addressed the Ka first, "you can go. And you," she elbowed her brother, "can relax your grip. You won't fall off her, not as long as long as she doesn't want you to. There's nothing to worry about."

He couldn't fall off? What did that mean? Star Saber took a step forward before he could ask, and Cassim focused on making sure he had a grip on his sister. She began to walk faster and then lengthened her strides. The steps became rough as she started to trot but then leveled out as she broke into an open run.

It was similar to a horse, Cassim decided, his eyes firmly shut, but her paws were absorbing the shock from for a smoother ride. It was also amazingly quiet, and the only thing he could hear was the wind blowing past and the sand shifting under their weight. There was no obnoxious echo of hooves on stone, and the stride was so smooth he doubted he even needed a saddle.

"Open your eyes," Ani chastised him. "You'll love the view."

Reluctantly, Cassim did so. The golden brown desert and stone had melted into a swirl of honey. They were going too fast to make out details, and it felt like they were flying. The sensation of freedom was intoxicating, as if the earth itself was not strong enough to hold them down. He could feel a smile start to spread across his lips and he fractionally relaxed his grip on Ani.

Now Cassim Bakura really wanted a Ka of his own.

* * *

 **Okay, this story is undergoing a reboot as of 9/27/16. If you have read the story beforehand go back and read it again. I really thought I was going to abandon this story, but I can't let it die out like that. It has the same general plot as it does from before the reboot, but names have changed.**

 **Ani Bakura used to be called Layla Bakura before the reboot. I changed her name to Ani because it** **sounds like Amane, the sister of Ryo Bakura. Ryo Bakura** ** _is_** **the present day reincarnation of Cassim Bakura, so consider the name change a nod to a sister most people don't know Ryo had. (I didn't know Amane existed until one of my readers corrected me at least, but maybe you knew.)**

 **If anyone's still reading the story, which might not be very many given how long it's been since my last update, let me know if you like the new version. I always look forward to hearing to my readers, so don't be shy about leaving a review.**


	2. A Different Way of Life

It took the siblings less then half-an-hour to return to Kul Elna and because of Star Saber's aura, both were cool and comfortable instead of hot and sweaty as they would have been had they hiked. By now, Cassim Bakura had his arms loosely around his sister's waist, enjoying the sensation of "flying." He imagined that his Ka would have wings and be able to fly although he wasn't sure what other details it would have.

Cassim was almost disappointed when Star Saber slowed down to a trot, then a walk, and then stopped just inside the village's border. The siblings grinned at each other, but didn't dismount from Star Saber yet. Most of the bandits weren't yet used to seeing a blue Ka walking around the village, so Star Saber wanted to walk calmly instead of run by them in a blur. She knew they needed to expose the villagers to her more often so they would get used to her.

The citizens did a double take when they saw the Ka anyway. One of them dropped a box and jumped back. That was the most radical reaction they got though, proving that Kul Elna was getting used to Star Saber. The people quickly returned to what they were doing, no doubt getting ready for the Pharaoh's arrival. This had become an almost annual tradition. It was somewhat amusing that they weren't more freaked out to see a giant blue feline with stars in her fur walking through camp.

Cassim watched Ani sitting in front of him intently, but she didn't seem to be tired despite her exertions with her Ka. Their father had said that the more she practiced the easier it would be for her to summon her Ka without using up all of her Ba – her lifeforce. It appeared he was right. That was good for the bandits and bad for the Pharaoh.

Ani's head lowered and then she raised it again. She sighed and elbowed Cassim. It appeared she was at her limit and had decided to dismiss her Ka from solid form before she fainted from exhaustion again. They both slid off her to the ground once Star Saber lay down.

Cassim watched as the Ka's form rippled like heatwaves in the air and then began to get transparent. Her form got fainter until she was nothing more than a distortion and then vanished altogether. In that instant, Ani's steel-purple eyes turned as bright silver as her Ka's. The next instant they were back to their normal color. If Cassim hadn't known that her eyes changing color was real instead of an illusion he might have dismissed what he had seen, so brief was the shift.

"She's still there, isn't she?" Cassim asked his sibling.

Ani nodded, feeling better now that the drain on her Ba had ended. "Saber's always there, even if others can't see her. Father's not sure why she never goes away completely. He says its strange behavior for a Ka. Even though I'm not feeding her my Ba she's still there."

Cassim's lips parted to say something else when a chuckle drowned his words.

"Ah," the chuckler said, "It seems I've got both Bakuras in one place."

Cassim glanced over his shoulder to see one of the many bandits in the village glide almost silently over the sand. It was Reseph, a young potter who had been forced to flee ten years ago after he had killed two of the Pharaoh's guards when they had come to collect taxes and then attempted to put him in jail when he couldn't pay. He had adapted amazingly well to the bandit lifestyle, better than some who took refuge in Kul Elna to escape the Pharaoh.

He wore typical bandit clothing, dyed to blend into the desert stand and stone, and was armed with several daggers, a shortsword, and a sling he wore wrapped around his left forearm. A supply of dense stones had been threaded together and he wore it as a necklace. Normally he used the sling to hunt, but a sound hit to a man's skull with one of his stones would stop him, so he had been teaching Cassim how to use one. His clothing was a little ragged and worn, which was to be expected since the bandits got most of their clothing from raids.

The outline of Reseph's image seemed to blur and waver, as if the light was breaking up around him – a side effect of a spell. There was no spell, as Reseph had told the children. The "magic" was his cloaked dyed a mottled gold and brown that broke up the light around his form and allowed him to fade into the background. As always, he wore his hood up, both to enhance the effect of his cloak and keep the sun off his head.

Cassim felt a bead of sweat run down his neck, and he reached to take a drink of his canteen as Respeh continued speaking. Without Star Saber, the heat had returned with a vengeance and he was suddenly all too aware he was standing in the sun.

"Your father's looking for you," Reseph told the children. "It's about preparations for tonight."

"We know what to do if the Pharaoh's people come," Cassim promised him after he swallowed his water and closed the lid of his canteen. "We're used to it."

"I'm just passing on a message," Reseph shrugged, eyeing them cautiously, "so don't kill the messenger."

The siblings grinned at Reseph's wary tone, as if he was expecting them to snap at him for a message they didn't like. He normally had a confident self-assured swagger a bandit should have and the sight of Ani's Ka didn't scare him, but he started acting like a subjected commoner at the strangest of moments.

"We'll go find him," Ani told Reseph.

Despite standing in the sun, she didn't look hot. Her cheeks weren't flushed and she wasn't even sweating. Cassim swallowed, his throat dry, and felt jealous again.

Reseph inclined his head at the dagger Ani was holding and asked, "Why are you holding that?"

Ani blinked, not sure what he was talking about, and then looked down and understood.

"The strap broke," Ani complained, holding the sheathed blade in one hand so Reseph could see the damage.

"Better get it fixed," Reseph told her. "The troops are in the mountains and a few always get past us and make it into the village."

"The adults kill them," Cassim grumbled, "We never get to do anything."

Reseph shook his head in disagreement. " _Anything_ can happen on the field of battle, young thief."

Cassim looked away instead of saying something more, and the three of them parted ways. He and his sister walked deeper into the village while Reseph headed outside. Cassim glanced over his shoulder after a minute, but had a hard time seeing Reseph. There were no turns or cover behind them, yet one of Kul Elna's stealthiest bandits had simply vanished. He wondered idly if Reseph _did_ use magic and just wasn't telling them.

Activates outside the village were curbed when the troops came to avoid unnecessary exposure, excepting Ani's practice with her Ka, so there could only be one reason for Reseph leaving – he was on Kul Elna's vanguard again. The tactic whenever the Pharaoh's troops came was the same: most of the village laid low while select members spread through the mountains and picked off the enemy's numbers a few at a time, using fear to drive them away. Reseph was going to scout out his attack grounds for the troops while Cassim spent the night stuck inside the village.

He already knew he would be stuck in the village, being as young as he was. Reseph _always_ got to leave to kill the Pharaoh's troops while Cassim was stuck behind like a child. Technically, he was a child, but that was beside the point.

Their father, when they found him in the plaza, confirmed Cassim's suspicions. Leaving his father-in-law to continue, Tau pulled the children aside. The positions were the same as last year. They would stay in the village with the rest of the children. Cassim felt a frustrated growl building in his throat.

"I don't want to stay behind doing nothing," Cassim whined, pouting like a younger child. "I want to fight!"

He put his hand to the hilt of his sword as he made his demand, and his father's unimpressed look raked over him. Cassim's face turned even redder, but it was not from the heat this time.

"You are a child," Tau Bakura told Cassim firmly, "your actions make that clear."

Cassim hung his head, knowing he had misspoken. He was just so frustrated. Tau seemed to understand Cassim had meant no harm with the statement and sighed. The wind ruffled his father's red flowing robe, open to expose the dyed shirt he wore underneath it. Another man might have it open to show off their chest muscles, but their father saw no reason to make himself vulnerable to sunburn just to stoke his ego.

He knelt before his frustrated son and smiled at him in the kind, trusting manner he had.

"When you are older Cassim," Tau repeated. "I refuse to send people out to fight who will not survive their first battle. You wear that sword despite your young age because you are more skilled then boys several years your senior. I trust you with it, and a few enemies always make their way into Kul Elna. You can help them."

He had tried this line on Cassim before, and it had worked in the past. This made it sound like it was important for Cassim to stay behind because he needed to help the adults protect Kul Elna from the Guards. Judging from Cassim's scowl, that line wouldn't work this time. Tau tried a different tact.

"Ani is vulnerable when she uses Star Saber," Tau added. "Her attention is divided. While her Ka patrols, you will need to watch over her. A Ka's guardian is not as immortal as their Spirit Monster."

Cassim thought that over. It was frustrating, but he knew his father would not change his mind. He almost never changed his mind even under the best of circumstances, and this was not a best circumstance. Tau was right. Cassim just wasn't old enough to manage well in battle. He was also right about Ani. She would need someone to watch her while her senses were away with her Ka, scouting.

Cassim's lack of retort was a silent concession. A smile lifted the corner of Tau's lips and he stood. His son tapped his fingers against the pommel of his sword, frustrated.

"Remember," Tau cautioned the frustrated child. "Always plan for the best but…"

"Prepare for the worst," the siblings finished as one.

Tau nodded at his children. "If worse comes to worse, I would rather you be near your sister Cassim, for both of your sakes."

The children nodded, Cassim morosely. They heard the sound of a bandit approaching, nosier then an outlaw normally would. Tau turned away from his children as the outlaw approached for his assignment. There was something sluggish about his steps, and Cassim recognized right away that he was drunk. Tau's features twisted in disgust when the bandit, who reeked of alcohol, stumbled to a halt in front of him.

"I's sheer for my assigntet," the bandit slurred, his words almost unintelligent.

Tau sighed and hung his head, and then asked no one in particular. "Where is the beer? I thought I ordered it locked up, and that no one was to touch it until we've run the Pharaoh's pets out of our mountains."

"Hey!" The drunken bandit, Hanhar (of course it was Hanhar, it was always Hanhar), shoved Tau, but almost toppling over from the movement. "Was bout my assigntet?"

He was forced to speak slowly, carefully pronouncing each syllable. The sunlight was bright, and his eyes were squinted to try to compensate. Tau slapped Hanhar's hand away, the loud crack echoing.

"You don't get one Hanhar," Tau told him. "I will not send people out to battle if they have no chance of surviving. _You_ would obviously be killed."

"Will not," Hanhar retorted, pulling out a clay beer bottle to take a swig.

Cassim barely saw his father's hand move before the bottle shattered and the beer fell to the ground and on Hanhar. The drunken bandit gave a noise of complaint, left holding nothing but the stem of the container. He raised his hand and looked at what was left of the bottle uncomprehendingly, blinking.

Sunlight from the nearly setting sun reflected off the blade of Tau's dagger. Cassim exhaled in awe at the speed of his father's strike. He hadn't even _seen_ his father draw the weapon or slash the bottle until the clay had shattered. Hanhar didn't seem to understand he should stop and took a step forward to punch Tau, comprehending only that he had lost his drink.

His swing was cubits off. Tau tightened his grip around the hilt of the dagger and punched the drunkard soundly between the eyes. There was a thud as the blow connected, and Hanhar took a step back, then another. Then he leaned over and fell backwards into the sand flat on his back. The weight of the dagger's hilt Tau held had added extra strength to the blow, working like a brass knuckle to knock his opponent out with one hit.

Tau scowled in a very displeased manner at Hanhar's prone form. His father-in-law, the current Bandit King, Nakht, stood off to one side apprising him with what looked like approval. For a former priest of the Pharaoh's, Tau had adapted to the life of a bandit even better then Reseph had. Cassim felt pride in his chest to be Tau's son and stood a little straighter.

"Get him out of here," Tau ordered two of the nearby bandits with a jerk of his head at Hanhar. "Keep him confined to the canyon. If he tries to leave the village, knock him out again."

One bandit grabbed each of Hanhar's arms and began dragging him away. The heels of his sandals left two lines in the sand. Tau sighed as Hanhar was removed.

"I am getting tired of that drunkard," Tau muttered, his upper lip curled as if he had smelled something rank. "I might have a word with him after he wakes up about this… habit of his."

He shook his head and looked away, back to his children. When he saw they were still standing there, he raised an eyebrow at them. The disgusted edge to his features vanished, replaced by a slightly stressed smile when he saw they were both grinning. They seemed pleased Hanhar had been knocked out, and even more pleased that their father had done it. He was no coward.

They waved their goodbyes after that, and then parted from Tau. Cassim thought about one of their father's favorite quotes: _"The fool strikes. The wise man smiles, watches, learns. Then strikes."_ Not only was it a good quote, it was one of the best ways to describe their father.

The siblings were cheered by what had just happened. Cassim wanted his Ka to be an attacker, strong like his father. Star Saber could fight and had, but she preferred to scout and keep watch. _His_ Ka would not be a fighter first and foremost.

They parted ways shortly afterwards, still in a fine mood despite the heat of the Sahara. Ani was going to see Sethos, the village tanner, about fixing her dagger's sheathe while Cassim intended to find Ineni and some of his friends. As he walked away he touched the two scars that ran horizontally under his right eye, a memento from the day the lion pride attacked and clawed his face.

The sun had set to the point that its rays no longer touched the canyon floor. Sunset was not far off.

* * *

 **The second chapter of my rebooted story. The events that are about to occur in Kul Elna are, as you likely suspect, the slaughter of the villagers to create the Millennium Items. Kul Elna has been displayed as nothing but a place of evil that deserved what it got. I want to show a different side of the village. Yes, it's reputation was well-earned, but rumors and stories told by your enemies never give you a complete picture.**

 **Aknadin did not just happen to be the only person who knew where Kul Elna was and then go there to use them as sacrifices. No outsiders knew where the hidden refuge of the bandits was. That's why the village survived as long as it did. Logic dictates then, that someone helped Aknadin, a traitor in Kul Elna, lead him to the village.**


	3. Liar

Ani Bakura walked slowly through the village to Sethos's home, holding the dagger with the damaged scabbard. Star Saber walked one step behind and to the right of her as she always did. For as long as Ani could remember, Saber had always been there. Her first memory was when she had been in her crib and looked up to see a small blue feline with stars in her fur balancing on the edge of the crib and looking at her with curious silver eyes.

When Ani was younger, Saber had been smaller. Originally, she had been the size of the cats that roamed the village, hunting the rats and mice that ate their grain. The older and taller Ani had gotten, the larger Saber had become. Her father couldn't understand how her Ka worked, but he believed her.

He believed her now, Ani corrected herself in a voice that seemed to hiss, but he hadn't before he had seen Saber himself. Ani let the thought drift through her mind and fade away, something she had taught herself to do. Clinging to the anger and hate would solve nothing. If anything, it would hurt Star Saber.

Her father said that a Ka was powered by your Ba, your life force or soul. A good soul created a good Ka and a bad soul created an evil Ka. Ani liked to think that Star Saber was a good Ka. When Ani became vindictive or petty, angered, Saber's aura turned black. She hated to see her oldest friend's light be replaced by sticky shadows that hissed, so Ani had learned to let the frustration go instead of nursing it.

She brushed aside the cloth curtain over the door to Sethos's tannery. His home was on the upper floor. There was no sign of him when Ani entered, and she called out.

"Sethos?" Ani asked and turned her head left and right. "Are you home?"

There was silence for several seconds, so Ani glanced over her shoulder at Saber. Her Ka had her head tilted to one side, her giant ears turning this way and that. Saber nodded, saying that Sethos was here. She knew her Ka preferred not to speak in the language of humans if she could convey what she was thinking any other way. Her Ka was proven right, as always, when someone tromped down the stairs a few seconds later. It was Sethos. In the past, Ani would have ignored Star Saber, but this time she glanced at her Ka, visible only to her, and smiled briefly.

Sethos hesitated in his greeting when he saw that action, but dismissed it. "Welcome Ani, can I help you?"

Ani nodded and held out the dagger towards him. "The strap on the scabbard broke. Can you have it fixed before tonight?"

Sethos approached her somewhat cautiously and took the dagger from her. He turned it over and nodded.

"It's better to get a new scabbard instead of fixing this," Sethos said and started walking away, looking through supplies. "I should have one that will fit this for the time being, at least until I can make a new one for you."

Ani nodded and let Sethos piddle about and look for a new scabbard. Sethos was eager to help her, she thought to herself. He was eager to help her because he now believed that her Ka was real and decided it would be best to curry her favor. In the past, Cassim would have to bring her gear to Sethos if it needed to be mended because he didn't want anything to do with the lack-witted sister who spoke to imaginary things and lied with every word she said.

Sethos was not a bad person in himself. His wife Femi, a beautiful woman, had had the misfortune of attracting the eye of one of the pharaoh's ministers. He had taken her from her home and raped her, dumping her back with Sethos once he had satisfied himself. Femi had later turned up pregnant. When the minister tried to come back, Sethos attacked him and they had been forced to flee the city.

Sethos had named the bastard boy that Femi bore Kemes, and was raising him as if he was his own. He might not be the boy's father, but he had Femi's blood and what had happened to Femi wasn't Kemes's fault. Femi was now pregnant again, this time with Sethos's child.

While Sethos removed Ani's blade form the scabbard and look for a replacement, Star Saber waved her tail at Ani. Ani caught her Ka's movement and when the cat pointed her tail, looked in the indicated direction. A boy about five years old with spikey black hair and brown eyes was looking at her from the stairs. She smiled at Kemes, but the boy seemed to sulk.

"Kemes," Sethos scolded the boy, "come out and say hello properly."

His tone made it clear it was an order. Kemes's eyes flashed to his foster father and he stepped down from the stairs closer to Ani. He looked confused. Ani knew why. Last year, Sethos had scolded Kemes for getting too close to Ani, as if worried her habit of lying would rub off on him. Now he was telling the boy to say hello.

Kemes decided not to after a moment and ran back up the stairs to the upper floor where Femi would be resting, her stomach grossly oversized, herself less than a month until it was time to have the baby. Sethos made a face at Kemes's behavior.

"You'll have to excuse him," Sethos sighed as he found a scabbard that would work and walked back to Ani to return it.

Ani did excuse Kemes. He was too young to do anything but obey his father's wishes. Sethos was the one that had told Kemes stories about Ani and how dangerous she was, how he should never go near her.

Ani took the dagger back mutely with a nod, noticing the light in Sethos's eyes. His eyes were bright instead of dark with mistrust and irritation as they had been last year. Neither warmth nor friendship lit his eyes, but jealousy and greed. Greed because he wanted to be the friend of someone with as much power as she had, and jealously because he did not have the power himself.

As Ani turned to leave, she stopped when Saber sat straight, hearing someone coming. The next instant, a girl a year older then Cassim brushed inside the tannery. If Ani hadn't hesitated she would have run right into her. She gave a movement of surprise when she saw Ani and then recovered and smiled. It was the same smile Sethos had, a smile that wanted to earn her favor, not befriend her. Ani didn't want followers and servants.

"Hello," she greeted Ani.

"Hello Amsi," Ani returned the greeting, not putting as much force behind the smile as Amsi tried to.

Amsi had silky black hair braided back and a quiver full of arrows with her unstrung bow over her right shoulder. She wore a pair of leather gloves that reached up to her elbows and a leather vest underneath her sand-died shirt and pants. Her irises were purple – not sort of violet-grey like Ani and Cassim's, but a deep, rich purple that were said to be the color of amethysts. Ani had never seen amethysts, but some of the adults had captured the jewels during a raid several years ago. Many boys swooned after Amsi because of her beauty, and smiled at Ani because of her new position of power.

"What are you doing here Amsi?" Sethos said by way of greeting.

Amsi held out a torn piece of leather, a falconer's glove, in front of her. Sethos sighed once he saw it, exhaling deeply.

"Again?" He demanded. "Your father tore it again?"

Amsi shrug helplessly. Her father was a strong archer, like Amsi, and an osprey that did not like gloves. Niszm, her father, always got fed up with his osprey. Xerxes, Niszm complained, took a special joy in tearing up gloves with his talons.

"It's not Xerxes's fault," Amsi defended the osprey.

 _Liar, liar, liar,_ the word echoed in Ani's head as Amsi flashed a smile at her. _You're a liar. Why can't you ever grow up?_ Laughter, Amsi's laughter at Ani's lies about her Ka, and the laughter of other children. Now Amsi was smiling at her as if they were friends. She had never even apologized. No one ever had.

"Excuse me," Ani said politely to them, "but I'm supposed to meet up with my mother."

Amsi looked surprised by Ani's chilly politeness as if she didn't understand what she had done to offend her. The offender always had a short memory. Ani turned and left, Saber walking by her side. Saber quickened her pace so she was walking backwards in front of Ani. Concern reflected in her silver eyes, and the Ka had shrunk so she was as tall as Ani and able to look her in the eye.

Ani smiled at her Ka, at nothing as far as anyone else could see. "I'm alright Saber."

Her words were hollow, and she knew they didn't fool her guardian. Star Saber let Ani walk around her, knowing the human would reveal her thoughts in time. Until then, all Star Saber could do was be there for her.

Amsi was usually brisk with people. She had gotten it from her father. When she had been a year old, the Pharaoh's brother Aknadin had ordered her father to infiltrate Kul Elna and reveal its location. If he failed, his wife and Amsi would be killed. Two of the Pharaoh's guard had been killed and the murder pinned on Niszm, getting him the credibility to be accepted into the bandits.

Realizing something was wrong with Niszm, Tau had caught him trying to send Xerxes to the palace with a map of how to find Kul Elna. Tau had heard Niszm's story and understood, having a family himself. Ani hadn't been born then, but Cassim had been almost two years. Niszm was escorted back to the village, and Tau concocted a plan to rescue his family.

Everyone said Tau was crazy. The bandits said it was impossible. Nobody could break into the Imperial City – into the Pharaoh's manor no less.

Tau had laughed and called the other bandits cowards. He said that they wanted to teach the Pharaoh a lesson, but raids on caravans weren't working. What better way to show the Pharaoh how powerless a fool he was then to walk up to his front door and say hello? Perhaps it was because the bandits were more prone to follow crazy plans, or perhaps everyone had been fed up with being just a nuisance to the Pharaoh, but he got a force of two dozen men to accompany him to the Imperial City.

The battle that followed was one of legends, and it earned the Pharaoh's undying hatred of them. Tau had planned the attack to happen during the day, a controversial choice. Iseret, born and raised in Kul Elna, told Ani and Cassim that the night belonged to the bandits. While everyone else hid in locked homes, _they_ walked in the shadows. To strike during the day normally wouldn't have worked, but that had been no ordinary day.

That day, the people of the Imperial City had thronged to the palace to celebrate the first birthday of Atem, Pharaoh Aknamkanon's son. With the cover of the event and the increase in the amount of people and noise, the crowd had become the perfect cover. Using Tau's knowledge of the layout of the palace from when he lived there, the element of surprise, and the distraction Atem unwittingly provided, they had infiltrated the palace. Three dozen guards, two ministers, and seven hired bodyguards had been killed in half an hour. Niszm's wife and Amsi were freed, and every bandit who walked in made it back to Kul Elna mostly unharmed.

Tau, who had been the son of the Bandit King in name only, earned the respect of the Kul Elna natives during that battle. Niszm had never forgotten the debt he owed to Tau, but Amsi had no wish to be burdened by her father's floundering gratitude. She had thus always been brisk to Cassim, and more than a little vicious to Ani. Now she was playing goody-two shoes in hopes of falling in the shadow of Ani's powers.

Ani thought about that legendary strike that freed Niszm's family and about the battle she knew was to come. The people of Kul Elna would have to drive Aknamkanon's troops from their territory by force, and someone might die. Someone would die. Ani had no idea how she knew that as she had not gift of foresight, but she knew in her heart that tonight the sand would be drenched red in the blood of Kul Elna. She silently asked Ra to take care of the people of her home as they fought to protect the town and the families within it.

On her way home, she was met by her father, her new scabbard on her belt instead of in her hand. Star Saber had been swatting gnats, having made herself the size of a house cat, and wasn't paying any mind to Tau. She knew Ani didn't need to be warned about her father approaching.

"Hello father," she greeted him after she saw him. "Are you done already?"

"For now," Tau said with a note of weariness in his voice, worn out after organizing the cutthroats. "Are you going home?"

Ani hummed agreement, and Tau fell in step with her.

"Ani," Tau asked after fighting with himself for a few seconds.

"Yes father?" She asked and looked up at him.

Tau sighed. "I hate to ask you, but would you mind helping with the defense of the village tonight?"

Ani was befuddled by her father's request. "Me? How can I help? You wouldn't let Cassim go into the field because he's too young and I'm even younger."

Then Ani realized what her father meant and her words cut off. She closed her jaws, lips sealed in frustration. Her father was asking her to use Star Saber. While her father had never believed her when she said she had a Ka, he had enough knowledge of the Spirit World not to disbelieve her. He had still encouraged her not to talk about her Ka, trying to limit the sideways looks and whispered of "lack-wit", "liar," and "cursed child" directed at her. Now he was asking for a favor from her and her Ka. He never would have done that last year.

Last year, he hadn't seen proof of Star Saber Ani reminded herself. Her father was just trying to do what was best for the village. Ani could see through Saber's eyes even if they were separated by distance, and Saber could make herself undetectable to everyone but Ani. She was the perfect scout, and if needs be, the perfect assassin.

Ani didn't answer, instead watching her Ka hop around in the sand chasing bugs. Star Saber abandoned her game abruptly and looked at the shadow cast by the wall, curiosity making her ears perk up. There was a shadow of someone sitting up there. Ani looked up and saw Chons and Lamentu. Those two were brothers one year apart. They had been born into slavery in the imperial city, their father beaten to death by a guard while working in the fields of grain.

Their mother had cut her hand on a knife she used to trim flax that she spun into cloth, and the wound festered. Eventually, her blood had become poisoned and she had died. No one would waste medical treatment on a slave. The boys, then aged 11 and 12, had fled and been found collapsed in the sand by Reseph and his squad after they had raided a caravan. Now they were 15 and 16, and considered old enough to fight. They would be out in the field tonight, and they would be working together as they always did.

Heri, their foster father in Kul Elna, tapped one on each shoulder and motioned for them to get up. They needed to get in their positions. He wasn't fleeing from the Pharaoh or slavery, but two murder charges after he killed his wife and the man she had been having an affair with. Although he had a bad temper at times and often drank with Hanhar, he had yet to kill any of Kul Elna's inhabitants.

The three of them vanished, and Ani looked back down, turning her attention in any direction except her father's. Kasch-ta was ordering some of the villagers around, getting extra bandages and putting the finishing touches on his supplies. He was a skilled physician, but had been unable to save the life of a minister's daughter after she drank unsafe water. In order to avoid execution for his failure, he had fled. Knaves and killers were plentiful in Ani's home, but a doctor like him was rare. In many ways, he was as valuable as Ani herself.

Scha-rei and her sister Senb were helping him move supplies. Their older brother Bakenranf would be in the vanguard tonight with Reseph, Heri, Chons, and Lamentu. Scha-rei waved at Ani when she saw her. Ani returned the motion out of habit, knowing the Scha-rei and Senb used to whisper and giggle whenever Ani walked past them, looking at her as a subject to gossip about. The three of them had lost their parents in a food shortage and Bakenranf had become one of Tau's contacts within the Imperial City. The three had been moved to Kul Elna after the Guard realized he was one of the bandits' informers and tried to apprehend them.

There were so many lives within this village. Each had a name and story. Some were simply unfortunate circumstances like Kasch-ta or Reseph. Others were here because they had to be, like Heri. Different names and stories perhaps, but they were all citizens of Kul Elna. And at least some of them were going to die tonight. She hoped Ra would hear her plea.

Ra might not deign to help bandits though. Many here believed the gods had abandoned them. Ani couldn't take the chance that Ra would ignore her plea. She would not pander to his whims, which meant she had to protect them herself.

"All right father," she said, determination making her voice strong as she finally looked up to face him. "Star Saber and I will help protect the village."

Saber bounced up and down, white whiskers bobbing with agreement. Ani smiled at her, smiling at nothing as far as anyone else could see, and then looked back at her father. Why rely on gods that might not hear you when you could do something yourself? That was what Reseph had said and right now, Ani couldn't help but agree. This was her home, and she would defend it… by whatever means necessary.

* * *

 **No, I don't expect you to remember all of the names mentioned. The point of the stories was to show that despite its (well-earned) reputation, the people within the village are normal people. They have names, history, friends, and family.**

 **Yes, they're cutthroats and bandits who get a certain thrill from killing and stealing, but there is more to them then that. They didn't deserve what Aknadin did to them when he made the Millennium Items. It's just like how Ani didn't deserve the treatment she got growing up because she would not turn her back on her Ka to appear "normal."**

 **One of them is a traitor though.**


	4. Sunset

Tau stopped outside the cloth that covered the doorway to his home and listened. Ani had left him, finding a private place where she could speak to Star Saber without people gawking at her for talking to thin air. Cassim was still out with his friends, enjoying the last hour of freedom until they would be recalled home for a night of blood.

Thus, he stood alone and listened to the sound of a whetstone being dragged across the edge of a sword, a familiar, steady whisper of steel on stone. Smiling, he entered and brushed aside the cloth. Inside, Iseret was sitting near a window. Tau watched as his wife expertly sharpened the blade, turning it first this way and then that until the edges of the mirror-bright blade shimmered like fire. The mate to the blade she was sharpening was on the table beside her, already sharpened.

Iseret stopped sharpening her blade and glanced up at Tau, raising one eyebrow. Her purple-grey eyes were bright with amusement. Tau smiled at her.

"You done giving the boys their assignments?" She asked him.

"Just finished," Tau announced. "Hanhar showed up drunk."

"Again?" Iseret frowned at him and shook her head. "What did you do?"

"I just knocked him out," Tau dismissed. "I might have to do something more drastic though if he doesn't stop."

"Agreed," Iseret said and apprised the edge of her blade.

Her long, straight hair hung down to her mid-back. It was as black as the obsidian ring she wore on her hand. If Tau didn't know better he would say she had never given birth to two children. There was nary a scrap of fat on her although there was muscle. Both children had inherited her willowy frame as well as her unique eye color. Despite appearances, Tau knew neither the children nor their mother were fragile or frail. Their strength was not in barrels of muscle, but in every sinew of their body.

Iseret, content with the edge on her blade, twirled it in her hand and picked the mate off the table. She put them together and sheathed them in the same scabbard without looking. Tau was used to her confidence with her swords.

Tau still remembered seeing her swept into the Imperial City by a stray sandstorm when he had first met her. Everyone had been surprised to see a woman with a sword, and even more surprised that she was able to use it better than most of the Pharaoh's guards. She had faded away after killing the men trying to bring her before the Pharaoh, only to be found collapsed by Tau, exhausted from her fight with the sandstorm and the guards. He had brought her to Aknadin's temple to recover, and had been terrified when she awoke and held a sword to his throat.

"What are you smiling about?" Iseret asked him, a smile tugging at her own lips.

"Your first day in the Imperial City," Tau chuckled.

"Ah," Iseret mused, "my first day in a city other than Kul Elna. Be glad I didn't take your head off."

She almost had, Tau remembered.

"You might consider doing something like that to Hanhar though," Iseret said thoughtfully as she tossed the whetstone up and down in one hand.

"Something like what?" Tau asked blankly.

Iseret rolled her eyes at her husband. Despite being a bandit for so long, he was still as innocent as the day Iseret had met him. As annoying as it could be, she loved him for it. She kept her gaze on Tau, and after a few seconds, she saw him jerk, alarm flashing across his brown eyes.

"No!" Tau nearly shouted, slashing the air with one hand. "I'm not decapitating one of my men! _Iseret_ , you've already suggested that, and the answer is still no. Hanhar is under my command."

"Technically he's under my father's, like you," Iseret reminded pointedly.

Technically, Iseret was right. Nakht had lost the sight in his right eye and gotten his right leg crippled in a rock fall, forcing him to relegate more responsibility to his son-in-law, Tau. Despite that, he was still the leader of the bandits. He was the one who had united the ragtag bands of knaves under a single banner – his – and created Kul Elna. Thus, the nuisance raiding parties of criminals had become dangerously, fatally, organized.

Tau scowled at Iseret. "I know that, but I'm not eager to kill people under my command."

Iseret smiled and drew her swords. They were identical, and could be considered two halves of the same sword. She held both hilts pressed together in a single hand. Tau could see their edge reflecting in the fading sun.

"There are two types of people," Iseret said, quoting her father. "The type that learn from words and the type that needs to be taught by steel. The smart ones heed words, but the stubborn ones need to be taught. Hanhar is one of the ones that must be taught. Oh, you've knocked his teeth in a few times, but you'll have to do more if you want to get the lesson through his skull."

"I've got to deal with Aknamkanon's men," Tau parried. "Hanhar will wait until after they're run off."

"Nice dodge," Iseret chuckled, "but I'll let it slide for now."

"Lucky me," Tau grumbled.

Iseret laughed, and her soft lilting voice with its singsong quality turned into a musical laugh. She replaced the twin swords into the scabbard again. Tau watched as she brushed a lock of her loose hair behind her ear, and Iseret caught him staring.

"What?" She asked him with a smile.

"Nothing," Tau shook his head.

Because of Iseret's upbringing in Kul Elna, she could be a little callous, but she was a gifted warrior and she cared deeply for their children. Many men bowed to her, acknowledging that she was the best swordsman in the village. Most were outrightly terrified of her. She had a softer side though.

After Tau had taught her how to read and write, she had begun teaching everyone in the village. Children and adults alike would gather around as she used a stick in the sand to trace out hieroglyphics, telling them what each one meant. As ramshackle a group as Kul Elna was, they were his people and his family, and he wouldn't trade them for the Pharaoh's throne.

* * *

Some distance away from the village, the priest Aknadin sat in the saddle of a grey mare, speaking to a person standing next to him.

"Where did you say Kul Elna is?" Aknadin was asking.

"It's just past the Claws," his guide told him and pointed to one direction.

Aknadin strained his eyes in the indicated direction, but there was no sign of anything that might be called Claws. The entire area was mountainous. He understood the importance of keeping his forces away from the bandits until it was time to strike, but in his opinion they were too far away.

"The Claws are three mountains whose peaks rise up beside each other, all the same height," the Kul Elna native explained. "We'll have to move quickly once we begin. I'll take care of as many sentries as I can."

"See that you do," Aknadin said in a chilled voice. "What is your name again?"

The bandit, still wearing his cloak with the hood pulled up, glanced at him. "Reseph. My name is Reseph."

"Reseph," Aknadin repeated. "You are dismissed. Clear the way for us."

Without a bow or even a nod of acknowledgment for his high rank, the bandit turned and walked into the desert. He seemed to vanish into the scenery. Aknadin looked around for his ally in vain, amazed at his skill since the sun was still out, and then took a book out from under his cloak. It was old, the pages coded, the cover made of blue leather and edged with white. Gold inlaid the cover's surface with the Eye of Wdjat in the center of it all.

The power contained within the spellbook warmed Aknadin's hands and filled his heart with glee. He was so close to carrying out the ritual he had decoded from the Millennium Spellbook and creating the seven items of power. Aknamkanon had always been wary of using the Shadow Alchemy written within the book, but he had allowed Aknadin to decode it. Now with an army on his doorstep, Aknadin had finally been able to get permission to carry out the spell he had translated.

"It would take seven days," Aknadin had said, "and during that time I will be able to forge seven treasures for you that have the power of Shadow Alchemy."

He had never mentioned the 99 humans that would need to be sacrificed, their blood, bone, and souls sealed with the metal. If he mentioned that then Aknamkanon would never have given his approval to have the items created.

He reread part of the spell, using the light from the sun as it neared the horizon. Everything had to go perfectly. There would be no second chance to do this as there was no other place for him to get so many sacrifices at once. The people of Kul Elna were corrupt and evil, a blight on the land. These people would not be missed.

 _When Aknamkanon finds out I got rid of Kul Elna to create the new treasures, he might even thank me._

"This might be trouble," one of Aknadin's three priests said, standing beside him. "Isn't there someone with a Ka there?"

"Yes," Aknadin agreed with a smile. "It's amazing. I have yet to open the rift between here and the Spirit World, and yet there is a person who already has a Spirit Monster. She is likely the first real guardian of a Ka, and must be captured alive."

"You sad that already," the co-conspirator pointed out, "but this is a _Ka_. It is strong enough to kill, and we have no Spirit Monster of our own to fight it."

Aknadin closed the spellbook and set it in front of him. He reached over and tugged the sleeve of his brown robe up his left arm. Something gold glinted at his wrist, a gold bracelet with the Eye of Wdjat.

"No," Aknadin agreed, "but we have this."

"I thought that wasn't a real Millennium Item." The priest's brown eyebrows furred in confusion.

"It's not," Aknadin repeated, "and its power is negligible compared to the seven we will create. This bracelet is a prototype I made from a few prisoners so I could learn the technique. I imagine it will break soon, but until it does, I can use the power of Shadow Alchemy. It might not be on the same level as the items that will be created, but it should be enough to deal with _one_ Ka and one _little girl_."

Stated for the moment, Aknadin's fellow priest drifted away. Aknadin glanced over at the other two priests he had brought with him. One of them was staring in the direction the bandit had disappeared in mistrustfully. It was obvious he didn't trust the bandit to lead them to Kul Elna instead of into a trap.

"The soldiers are getting antsy," the third of Aknadin's priests told him. "Are you certain your spell will hold?"

"The soldiers will not remember their future actions at Kul Elna, and they will not hesitate," Aknadin assured him, getting a little tired of making assurances. "They can no more disobey us then our bandit friend can betray us. I doubt our guide has even realized we have enslaved his will and are forcing him to betray his home. There is enough power in this bracelet to keep them all under control for one night."

Aknadin knew that for a fact. Humans were easy to enslave. The only problem would be sealing the Ka. Still, he thought to himself as his third priest turned his steed away, for a prototype shoddily made this bracelet was impressive. He especially liked its power to enslave the will of others. Hopefully one of the new Millennium Items would share the ability.

Aknadin rubbed the surface of the bracelet, touching the crack on the band. He would have to seal the Ka before the bracelet was pushed beyond its ability. It would be difficult, but he didn't think it was anything he should fret over. After all, his biggest threat was going to be a blue cat that glowed and a girl. He would even be able to say hello to his old subordinate Tau.

With luck, everyone in Kul Elna would be rounded up and ready to be sacrificed by midnight tonight. Once they were killed, the seven day ritual to make the tools could begin. Aknadin replaced the Millennium Spellbook in his robe and looked out in the direction Kul Elna was supposed to be.

Overhead, orange began to paint the sky. The sun, a brilliant disk of light, began to slip under the horizon. It was sunset. The time was almost here.

* * *

 **Don't kill me for Aknadin's bracelet. It is not some "lost" eighth millennium item that is going to be reoccurring. That's BS. There are only seven items.**

 **The bracelet is a prototype, and although it does have some of the Millennium Items' power, it is only a fraction. It will be destroyed by the end of the story. It just explains how Aknadin knew where Kul Elna was (he charmed Reseph to tell him) and how he got the soldiers to help with the slaughter (he charmed them with the bracelet to).**

 **It will also make the fight scene between Ani and Aknadin during the Battle of Kul Elna very interesting.**


	5. Twilight

Cassim lounged inside his house, bored. He looked out through the window over the town. It was a nice sight, but he was still bored. The town was in blackout mode, so not a single lamp or fire was lit within its boundary. No outsiders knew where Kul Elna was and no one wanted it to be given away by a stray lantern flame.

The only light came from the rapidly darkening sky as the traces of the sunset vanished and the sky changed to twilight blue, a few stars beginning to sparkle. It was a clear, cloudless night and with the sun gone, the temperature in the desert began to plummet rapidly. Cassim rubbed his upper arms in an attempt to keep warm.

He glanced behind him and saw Ani lying on top of the table. She was resting, her attention directed to Star Saber who was walking invisibly around the village. Cassim's mother was sitting near the table with her arms crossed in her lap. If he didn't know better, he'd say his mother had fallen asleep.

Not a word was exchanged between the three family members as sound carried deceptively well on such a clear night, especially in a canyon. He was envious of Reseph and of his father, both of whom were out in the field. A recurve bow and quiver were sitting beside him but he fingered his shortsword instead of the long-range weapon.

Even if any of the Pharaoh's guard strayed to Kul Elna, the adults would make sure they never returned to the rest of the unit. His mother had told him he could sleep since there wasn't anything to worry about, but it didn't seem right to Cassim to take it easy while his sister was scouting and his mother standing guard over her. The logic made sense, but he was still bored. He sighed, and tried to settle down.

Ani was unaware of her brother's trepidation as she patrolled the edge of Kul Elna. Technically, Star Saber was patrolling and Ani was just seeing through her senses. Her Ka saw two friendly bandits hiding in the shadows and waiting to see if any guards strayed this far. Everything seemed calm, so Ani let Star Saber turn away and continue the patrol. They did a full loop of the area and returned to their starting point without finding anything of interest.

Ani was a little surprised to see that the two bandits were no longer in sight. Perhaps they had left to engage a few stray guards, or maybe they were just hiding and waiting. They couldn't see Star Saber right now as she had not made herself visible, so it wasn't a surprise they weren't in sight. Saber jumped on top of a building, tail swishing across the surface of a roof.

The Ka looked around and she and Ani were just in time to see a sand-colored cloak vanish from sight. Ani frowned, confused by the sight of the cloak. Many bandits dyed their clothing with the sand to better blend in. Strange, but she didn't remember either of the guards wearing cloaks like that. Not everyone did after all.

Sensing her unease, Saber jumped to the ground and walked over. She searched the area to look for the guards but they appeared to be missing. Ani's breath caught as Saber found the two guards lying on the ground beneath an overhang, the sand stained red with their blood. Only one had drawn his weapons but the blades were still clean, indicating he hadn't had a chance to strike before he had been gutted.

Rather than cringe or wail at the bloody bodies, Ani swore to herself. Bodies were normal in a bandit's lifestyle, so it was not the bodies so much as the fact they were dead that disturbed Ani. There was no way one of the Pharaoh's guards was agile enough to ambush them, kill one without being noticed and continue to kill the other without being injured. It almost hinted that a bandit had been the one to kill them.

 _"Saber_ ," Ani ordered, " _search the area. Smell out who has the blood of these men on their weapons. I think we have a traitor."_

Saber prevented Ani from breaking the link with her, looking in the direction of bootprints in the sand. The prints were soft and indistinct and no human could have seen them in the sand. A Ka's eyes were sharper then a human's though, and she was able to see it. As such, so was Ani. It was further proof that a flatfooted guard could was not behind the deaths.

At Ani's agreement, Saber followed the prints. She ran vertically up the side of a cliff with no difficulty and stopped on top of the Claws. From here was a spectacular view, but it was not the view that almost shocked Ani out of her link with Saber.

Beyond the mountains, hidden from sight, were the Pharaoh's troops. There were more than a few. This was not just a small squadron. It looked like half of the army. Ani found it amazing that the Pharaoh would gather such a large force with invaders nearly banging on the palace gates and tried to understand how they had gotten so close without any alarms being raised. How many guards had been killed?

Star Saber, and by nature Ani, looked towards the front of the crowd where a figure in a grey cloak was speaking to someone in a sand gold cloak. She didn't understand the situation until Saber identified the person from the side view as Reseph.

 _Reseph_? Why was Reseph speaking to the Pharaoh's guards? Was he trying to wager for his life? Had he been caught?

Saber's eyes focused on the blades Reseph held, and as he sheathed it, Ani saw that the blade was stained a bright red. It had recently been in contact with blood. Could Reseph have been the one to kill the guards? If that was true then he wasn't being held hostage. He was leading the guards to Kul Elna!

Saber wanted Ani to make her corporeal enough to tear the traitor's throat out, but Ani disagreed. If Reseph was a traitor then he had likely already told the guards about Star Saber. There was no reason to confirm his information by revealing herself. It would be better to report the news to her mother and alert the bandits what was coming. They could turn the tables on the pharaoh's ambush.

Saber agreed and Ani broke the link between them. The human opened her real eyes and sat up with a short, sharp jerk. Her head spun as the silver slid from her eyes, dizzy after her absence from her body. Almost instantly, her mother had stood and put a hand out to steady her daughter.

"Easy," Iseret told her gently. "What is it? Did you find something?"

Ani looked at her mother and some part of the desperation she felt must have gotten through because Iseret's look become serious. Cassim looked over at her.

Ani whispered one word and that word sent a chill down Cassim's spine, "ambush."

Iseret physically recoiled from the word and hissed, "What?"

"Reseph's leading the pharaoh's guards here," Ani filled in her mother as rapidly as she could. "There are several squads heading towards the Claws."

"That's impossible," Iseret said quickly. "Reseph is an old friend."

"I saw him speaking with the guards," Ani disagreed, putting as much force behind her voice as she could. "Saber tracked his scent from two dead guards to him and as he sheathed his blades I saw they were covered in blood. Mother, I don't know if Reseph really is a traitor but I do know that there is a large army outside heading our way."

Iseret hesitated at her daughter's tone and then nodded once quickly. "Cassim, stay with Ani. I'm going to double check this and raise the alarm."

"Yes mother," Cassim nodded.

Their mother brushed aside the cloth and quickly, silently, vanished into the night. Cassim took a step forward and helped Ani jump off the table.

"Are you sure?" Cassim asked her seriously.

Ani nodded, scuffing her feet on the ground. "Look at it this way brother. You finally get to fight."

Cassim paled, not sure if that was something to be happy about anymore. The siblings waited tensely, and a minute later their mother reappeared at the doorway. She said nothing, but put a finger to her lips in the universal symbol for silence. The fact that she had drawn her swords said everything. With her was Amsi, and the archer stayed with the siblings as Iseret faded away again to ready the bandits.

Ani asked Saber to help her see and her Ka obliged her. She was able to look right through the wall to the pass hidden in the Claws that led to the village. There were hundreds of silver glows, each glow the lifeforce of a single person. They were approaching the pass, only a handful of minutes away.

Amsi swallowed when she saw Ani's eyes. They were reflecting the starlight like mirrors, glowing silver as if she were a cat with the pupils slitted.

"How much time?" Cassim asked her.

"Not very much at all," Ani whispered.

"Come on," Amsi ordered the siblings, shoving aside her misgivings. "I've been told to get you two to safer ground."

She motioned for them to come and the siblings followed her. Saber fell in pace besides her, something that relieved Ani. Cassim silently drew his shortsword and held it in one hand as the three of them went in the direction opposite of the Claws. Ani glanced over her shoulder at the Claws as Saber hissed and stopped walking. Her eyes widened and Star Saber grew from the size of a stray cat to that of a desert lion.

Cassim must have noticed that Ani wasn't following because he stopped and turned to her. "Ani? What are…?"

He stopped when he saw what Ani was looking at. Amsi exhaled when her charges stopped walking and turned to snap at the children to move, but her voice died in her throat. Coming down from the pass was a line of torches.

"They found us," Ani said softly.

The torches wavered as bandits dropped down on the troops, using their bows and the high ground to decimate the troops. Their screams carried well across the clear night. The three of them held their breath, aware that their parents were some of the ones fighting against the intruders. Despite seeing bodies fall off the path, the torches spinning down into the night to hit the canyon floor, men continued to walk.

It was as if they didn't realize they were being picked off, which didn't match with the Guards. They were self-centered and should have broken off already, realizing they were outflanked. Yet they continued to walk at as rapid a pace as possible, coming closer to the village. There were so many men. It seemed like an endless stream.

"Saber!" Ani called out. "Help kill the guards!"

Saber growled an affirmative and a moment later appeared besides the children as a flash of silver light. Instead of appearing in her normal blue-furred form, she looked like glowing feline-shaped mass with hazy, indistinct edges. Her body shimmered as if it was made out of moonlight but her eyes were bottomless pools of black. Cassim and Amsi gave startled sounds as they saw Star Saber in her battle mode for the first time.

Her form blurred and elongated, and then shot towards the pass like a silver light. Almost as if she was a shooting star, she shot through the air, paws barely skimming across the tops of building. The screaming of the guards returned louder than before as she reached the pass and ran up it.

Ani couldn't see it, but she knew that the guards' swords would be bouncing off her Ka's form, unable to cut a single strand of fur, and that the arrows which pummeled her flanks fell to the ground unstained by blood. She grinned as a child would. A human could never hope to injure a Ka.

Unnoticed by the fighters, the fallen torches caught fire on trash piled up against the canyon wall. A few wisps of smoke began to drift upwards into the air as it tore through the fire. It would be harder for it to grow once it was done with the trash as there was mostly only rock, clay, and sand, but that was only until it reached the homes. Homes were full of combustibles like wooden furniture and clothing.

Aknadin smiled when he saw the shimmering silver cat tearing through the path, killing every guard in range of its saber fangs and scimitar like claws without injuring a single bandit. Invigorated by the arrival of the Ka, the bandits regrouped and quickly retook the path, pushing the troops back to the mouth of the pass.

This was the point where the attack would normally have broken and the guards routed, but Aknadin raised his left arm. His sleeve fell down from his arm, revealing the bracelet. It might just be a prototype, but it was time to see what the millennium items might be capable of. Golden light like beams of sunlight began to radiate from the Eye of Wdjat.

Saber grafted her eyesight onto Ani's, allowing the human to see from her eyes. All around were silver glowing spheres of lifeforce. A flash of gold began to glow, blindingly bright. It hurt their eyes, almost as if a second sun had risen. They didn't know where the light was coming from. Living beings were always silver. Never had they seen something colored gold.

The bracelet's light brightened as Aknadin gave a command and Saber slid to a stop, claws gouging trails in the stone as if it was gravel. As one, Ani and Saber watched as the light brightened and then flashed. Cassim and Amsi saw the golden light with their own sight as if the sun had decided to suddenly rise from the South and skip the night.

Then Ani shrieked, holding her head in her hands as she dropped to her knees. Cassim was instantly by his sister's side but he knew with undeniable shock that Ani's scream was one of pain. As impossible as it seemed, he realized her Spirit Monster had been injured.

* * *

 **Ka's are not creatures of this dimension so things of this dimension simply aren't capable of injuring it. Is it any wonder Aknadin is interested in being able to harness power of that level? Now, the lengths he's willing to go for that power are harder to understand.**


End file.
